For the second time in 4 days, I awoke to the sound of a knock on my door, except this one was much less violent.
"Come in, Mom," I called.
"Hey sweetie, I have some, um... news," she said nervously. Mom never gets nervous. This had to be serious. I gave her my full attention. "You know your old friend, Gary?" I nodded slowly. "Well, he um... passed at 3 am this morning."
"NO!" I screamed. My mom ran over to me as I began to bawl into my pillow.
"I know, I know," my mom comforted me, "Everything's going to be okay in the end."
"I just... can't believe it. It's not fair!" I complained. My mom slowly started to stroke my back. "Do I have to get out of bed today?" I asked her.
"Of course not," she replied, "I'll leave you alone for a while." I whispered a barely audible "okay" as my mom stood up to leave. I texted Paul and told him I'd be home all day. I made sure to add that I wanted to be alone. And for the rest of that painful Saturday, I did nothing but sleep, eat, and cry.
